"This approach to criminal law and the administration of justice is completely repugnant to any sense of justice, contrary to due process and fair play. I am personally and professionally offended."

Charles Turner, the former U.S. Attorney in Oregon, isn't mincing words about the state of Oregon's ongoing prosecution of David Lee Simmons.

As I wrote in my Oct. 30 column, Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers is compounding an atrocious example of legal malfeasance in Madras by bringing the power of the state to bear against Simmons.

At the age of 17, Simmons had sex with his 14-year-old girlfriend. At the request of her parents, Jefferson County prosecuted Simmons for third-degree rape and third-degree sodomy. A grand jury rejected the prosecutor's argument ... and, amazingly, the prosecution continued anyway. In what Simmons' lawyer describes as double jeopardy, that prosecution continues today because Myers is determined to defend state DAs, even when they screw up.

"This is so repugnant to me that it's hard to imagine," said Turner, who served as U.S. Attorney in Oregon from 1982 to 1993. "I would like to think Ted Kulongoski would step in and put an end to this, which he has the ability to do."

Turner believes there's little doubt as to why the state persists in prosecuting Simmons, who has already spent 30 days in jail despite the grand jury telling prosecutor Steven Leriche to stick those six felony charges where the sun don't shine:

"I have to say this seems to be financially driven," Turner said. "We don't want to fall on our sword and admit we made a serious mistake. And money is the bottom line. If no money was involved, I seriously doubt it would have gone this far."

The state, in other words, knows it will eventually -- and deservedly -- get hit with a civil suit. "If we have to pay some money because we made a mistake, OK," Turner said. "Do you want to ruin a boy's life? It's enough that he already spent his 30 days in jail. That seems to be a sufficient pound of flesh."

Amazingly, it's not sufficient for the Oregon attorney general's office. "This is really gross negligence and a testimony to incompetence," Turner said. "We're destroying the life of a young boy and that's very troubling."